National Romanticism: The Formation of National Movements

Viktor von Andrian-Werburg: Austria and her future

VIKTOR VON ANDRIAN-WERBURG: AUSTRIA AND HER FUTURE Title: Österreich und dessen Zukunft (Austria and Her future) Originally published: Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe, 1843 Language: German The excerpts used are from Madeleine Rietra, ed., Wirkungsgeschichte als Kulturgeschichte . Viktor von Andrian-Werburgs Rezeption im Vormärz (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2001), pp. 215–216, 217, 288–289. About the author Viktor Franz von Andrian-Werburg [1813, Görz, (today Gorizia, Italy) – 1858, Vienna]: politician and writer. He belonged to an old aristocratic family from Görz. After completing his basic education, he studied law in Vienna. In 1834 he began his career in the civil service working for the Austrian ‘Gubernium’ in Venice. In the early 1840s, Andrian-Werburg published two works important for the evolution of his political career, Österreich im Jahre 1843 and Österreich und dessen Zukunft. Both of them criticized the political system in Austria. In 1844 Andrian-Werburg became a secretary at the Imperial Chancellery, a position he abandoned in 1846. During the Revolution of 1848 he became an active politician, supporting the reformist movements and the interests of ethnic minorities such as the Czechs. He was a member of the ‘Frankfurt Parliament’ (May 1848–May 1849), where he advocated the ‘Großdeutsch’ idea (Greater Germany with Austria as the leader) instead of a ‘Kleindeutsch’ one (Germany with Prussia as the leader). After the defeat of the revolutions of 1848 in Germany and Austria, Andrian-Werburg worked as a political commentator. He was a fervent critic of the neo-absolutist regime of Alexander von Bach (1813–1893), instituted after 1849. In his Centralisation und Decentralisation in Österreich (1850), he discussed the centralization policies of the post-1848 period and their effect on Austrian political and national life, and insisted that the state should respect the autonomy of the individual regions and their rights to internal legislation. Many of his ideas were reflected in the ‘October Diploma’ introduced by Francis Joseph (r. 1848–1916) in 1860. In addition to his impact on constitutional history in Austria, Andrian-Werburg’s theory of federal nationalism was constantly invoked in the discussions about the future of Austria and its relationship with other ethnic groups which characterized the last decades of the Habsburg Empire. Main works: Österreich im Jahre 1843 [Austria in 1843] (1843); Österreich und dessen Zukunft [Austria and Her future] (1843); Centralisation und Decentralisation in 316 THE NATION AND ITS NEIGHBORS IN EUROPE Österreich [Centralization and decentralization in Austria] (1850); Denkschrift über die Verfassungs- und Verwaltungsfrage in Österreich im Jahre 1851 [Memorial on constitutional and administrative questions in Austria in 1851] (1851, published in 1859). Context Two clusters of ideas characterized political thinking in Austria in the period preceding the revolution of 1848. The first dealt with the rise of nationalism amongst the ethnic groups of the Empire; the second discussed the future of Austria in Central Europe and its relationship with Prussia. Metternich ’s political system had an impact on the evolution of both of these themes. However, to many critics of Metternich’s policies, his combination of diplomatic strategies designed to enhance Austria’s international credentials through the suppression of internal national movements jeopardized the existence of the Austrian Empire. According to these authors, one could not imagine the future of Austria without a feasible solution for the domestic rise of conflicting nationalisms. Moreover, the political fragmentation of the German states of the former Holy Roman Empire, and Prussia’s intention to dominate the future of these states fueled additional debates in Austria. In the 1840s–1850s, various writers in the Austrian Empire, such as József Eötvös (1813–1871), František Palacký (1798–1876) and Viktor von Andrian -Werburg, argued that the domestic problems of Austria could not be dissociated from external developments, such as the creation of a German state under the leadership of Prussia. The Austrian Empire, according to these authors , was facing a critical moment in its modern history. On a general level they combined ideas of public reform, such as a new constitutional arrangement for Austria, with concepts of national equality and liberty for the ethnic groups of the Empire. On a particular level, however, their theoretical and political interests tended to illustrate their national affiliation. Eötvös and Palacký perceived the Austrian Empire as a protector of the ethnic diversity in Central Europe and the only force capable of blocking Russia’s expansion. However, they had connected the stability and consolidation of the Austrian Empire with the national recognition of their...